Lauren Weinstein

I just started this book and am already laughing at chapter 1, called "Barbies.". The narrator plays elaborate games with her Barbies and re-styles them (cuts their hair, markers over their eyes) to fit her needs. What really got me laughing is her letter to the makers of Barbie in which she asks them to make Barbies with more diverse occupations, like librarian, arctic explorer, or plumber. To be quite honest, the art put me off at first, but as soon as I started reading, I was cracking up. The author has a great sense of humor! The content gets very dark at times, which many teen readers can relate to. The narrator continually calls herself a loser and is treated very badly by her peers in school, which a lot of readers can relate to. I would recommend this book to female readers in high school - I don't think that it would appeal to male readers, because it mainly deals with issues experienced by girls, hence the title, "Girl Stories". I really enjoyed this book and could tell that it had been originally posted on the author's blog.… (mere)

Hilarious!!! This book had me blushing in embarrassment as the narrator shares her daily happenings which include such things as mutilating and redesigning her Barbies to be more realistic and fantasing about Morrisey falling in love with her and doing romantic things like running through a graveyard together. She has Cure posters on her wall- what's not to like about this character. Also included is a "how to get a boyfriend" comic which tells you everything you shouldn't do and will have you laughing in snob-gothery at all the silly girls you remember doing those things. The issues are real, and sometimes not pretty... bullies, infected belly button peircings, dressing slutty for attention, and starving yourself to be thin... but all in all it has a positive message for outsider girls.… (mere)